One man’s reluctant attempt to look into the crystal ball for the 2009-10 season

Sharks aren’t skating for another hour or so, which means it’s not likely I’ll have anything on those roster cuts (and maybe the captaincy) until then at the earliest.

But let me digress in a different direction …

The one part of this job that I REALLY don’t like is the annual demand from the boss to come up with some power rankings of our own, best-to-worst capsules of the 30 teams, broken down by conference.

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Let’s just say I normally tell people who ask me for a prediction on anything hockey-related that I know enough about the sport to know that there’s no way to know. Wager on this game? You’ve got be kidding.

Anyway, the annual predictions are in today’s print edition. I’m not proud of them, but I figure they might provide a little fodder for the group in here. Read away, take your shots and then we can move on.

For the record, I had 11 of the 16 playoff teams identified correctly last year. I think Maggie the Monkey could have done equally well.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Detroit – Marian Hossa is gone and the defense isn’t getting any younger. But with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom around, the Red Wings are still the team to beat, especially if Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm match their impressive playoff efforts.

2. San Jose – The Sharks accomplished much in the off-season. Yes, the defense lost some experience and there’s pressure on Dany Heatley to deliver big-time, but San Jose added some of the grit and tenacity on its third and fourth lines that Stanley Cup aspirations require.

3. Chicago – Can the Blackhawks survive the front office turmoil that cost GM Dale Tallon his job? Probably. This is where Hossa landed, even though that meant Martin Havlat had to leave. No more goalie controversy with Cristobal Huet the clear-cut starter between the pipes.

5. Calgary – Bigtime makeover with Jay Bouwmeester joining Dion Phaneuf on the blue line, and a new coach in charge as Darryl Sutter hires brother Brent to replace Mike Keenan. The Flames still seem to lack scoring depth, but an improved enough roster to win the Northwest.

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6.. Vancouver – The major accomplishment of the off-season was getting signatures of the top three Canucks — goalie Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins – on long-term contracts. Defense took a hit with Mattias Ohlund going to Tampa Bay, so Vancouver may drop a notch in division.

7. St. Louis – No major acquisitions, though it’ll feel like it as Paul Kariya and Erik Johnson return after missing a combined 153 games because of injuries. Young talent such as T.J. Oshie, David Perron and David Backes should get the Blues back into the playoffs again.

8. Dallas – A horrendous string of injuries weakened the Stars last season, but the G.M. and coach still ended up taking the fall. New G.M. Joe Nieuwendyk emphasizes offense and Marc Crawford is behind the bench, but it is Brenden Morrow’s return that should give their fans hope.

9. Los Angeles – The Kings may be the most improved team in the West over the past two seasons, but still may not be good enough to reach the playoffs because of suspect goaltending. Rob Scuderi adds valuable experience to young defense featuring Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson.

10. Columbus – The Blue Jackets squeezed into the playoffs for the first time last season only to be humbled by Detroit — and could be back in the post-season if Steve Mason’s second year is anything like his first. Signing Rick Nash to a long-term deal was the off-season’s major event.

10. Minnesota – Former Sharks assistant Todd Richards has the challenge of establishing an offense-oriented system where defense-first has been the watchword since the franchise’s inception. Havlat replaces Marian Gaborik as the prime scoring threat.

12. Nashville – The Predators have a way of overachieving, but it’s hard to see them back in the post-season with no major new faces in the lineup and the departure of role players such as Scott Nichol and Vernon Fiddler. Still, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter do very nice work at the blue line.

13. Edmonton – Nikolai Khabibulin came to the rescue after Dwayne Roloson jumped to the Islanders, but the big problem is scoring – which had to make Dany Heatley’s trade veto all the more galling. Other major change saw Pat Quinn replace Craig MacTavish as coach.

14. Phoenix – Where to begin? With all the ownership issues and bankruptcy proceedings, the Coyotes lead the league in disarray. They were lucky to be able to attract the talented Dave Tippett as coaching successor to The Great One, but they’ll still be bottom-dwellers.

15. Colorado – The Avalanche seem to be a franchise adrift with a rookie G.M. and a rookie coach. Factor in Joe Sakic’s retirement and the departure of Ryan Smyth and Ian Laperriere, and it’s hard to see this team coming anywhere close to its former glory.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Pittsburgh – Hard to bet against the defending champs as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are around and Marc-Andre Fleury stays sharp in goal. Penguins did lose Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, but were able to pick up another shutdown defenseman in Jay McKee.

2. Washington – Scoring aplenty: Alexander Ovechkin’s 56 goals were tops in the NHL and Mike Green’s 31 were the most from any defenseman. Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin rack up impressive numbers, too. Blue-line play and goaltending remain a little questionable, though.

3. Philadelphia – A team that already had plenty of offense led by Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, the Flyers wanted to get tougher and brought in Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere. One giant question: Can the, um, free-spirited Ray Emery handle the role of starting goalie?

4. Boston – Not a whole lot of changes for another team whose playoffs didn’t meet expectations. Phil Kessel is gone and Tim Thomas won’t have Manny Fernandez backing him up in goal, but Derek Morris boosts the blue line. Best of the Northeast, but conference competition got tougher.

5. New Jersey – It’s been 12 years since the last time Jacques Lemaire started a season behind the Devils’ bench, but in some ways it’s as if he never left. Martin Brodeur is still in nets and defense has always been the priority, even in Lemaire’s absence.

6. Montreal – The Canadiens, like the Sharks, underwent a major roster overhaul, but, unlike his San Jose counterpart, G.M. Bob Gainey decided to gut the core. Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta form a brand new top line with Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill joining the D.

7. Carolina – The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference finals last spring before losing to Pittsburgh and have chosen to pretty much stand pat. Eric Staal anchors the offense, but Rod Brind’Amour (39) and even the still-productive Ray Whitney (37) are getting up in years.

8. Buffalo – The Sabres remain a bubble team as far as the playoffs, but did enough change during the off-season to push them into the post-season? Maybe not, but perhaps it simply will be enough for goalie Ryan Miller to stay healthy in order to get Buffalo back to the post-season.

9. Toronto – G.M. Brian Burke was a busy man. He wanted to add toughness and did in Colton Orr, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby. He convinced Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson to sign with the Leafs, then gave up serious draft picks for Phil Kessel. Still, playoffs wait another year.

10. New York Rangers – Another team that decided to remake the roster, the Rangers still are likely to go as far as goalie Henrik Lundqvist can carry them, further if Marian Gaborki can stay healthy. Question: Will Coach John Tortorella and Sean Avery be able to stay best friends forever?

11. Ottawa – The Senators were hurting even before Dany Heatley’s trade demand became public. But Ottawa added Alexei Kovalev as well as ex-Sharks Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo to a lineup that still has Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, so it’s not hopeless here.

12. Tampa Bay – It almost looks as if this mismanaged franchise had a plan – select Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, then sign Swedish veteran Mattias Ohlund as a free agent to tutor him. Alex Tanguay adds offense, but playoffs still unlikely.

13. Florida – It took a tie-breaker to keep the Panthers out of the playoffs last season, but Jay Bouwmeester’s departure and no influx of scoring probably means Florida won’t come that close next spring. Steve Reinprecht and Jordan Leopold were the major new additions.

14. Atlanta – Another team with ownership issues. And when you turn to Toronto for help in the form of D Pavel Kubina and RW Nik Antropov, well, things probably will be better, but not by all that much. Big question: Will Thrashers improve enough to get LW Ilya Kovalchuk to re-up?

15. New York Islanders – The presence of No. 1 overall draft pick John Tavares makes the Isles more interesting, but it won’t keep them out of the running for the first overall pick in 2010, too. Offense lacking, but the net is crowded with Rick DiPietro, Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

I know that. I have no problem with rules such as don’t personally attack people, know your facts, don’t call names, because those are more guidelines than rules, and are in place for the greater good of discussions, to keep the discussions going, and not have it turn into people arguing like crazy. Also they’re subjective, not black and white rules. No “profanity” is an objective measure, either a word if profanity or it isn’t, and it serves no purpose towards helping keep discussions going, or anything to that degree other than to censor people. That’s the only purpose it serves, to censor people. If the rule was “do not direct profanity at anyone, do not call people profanity,” and to that effect, it would be a different story, because that would again serve the discussion. But having a rule that says you can’t write “This damn bad weather is ruining my day” or whatever it may be doesn’t really a serve a purpose other than to eliminate words you can use. It’s not a big deal at all. It’s perfectly fine. Dave isn’t at fault. I’m sure he hasn’t even thought it through to this degree because it’s not that big of a deal. I was just having a little fun because it is, like I said, amusing when you think about it in terms of a writer wanting to censor people. That’s not completely accurate though, and it’s not Dave’s intention I’m sure. It’s just amusing when you think about it in those terms.

Eddie

DP,

How come Ray Ratto had in his column in the SF Comic today that Blake was going to be named captain, yet you still had no idea as of yesterday who would be captain. Covering the team everyday shouldn’t you know this info, and how in the heck can you let Ratto beat you to the punch on this one?

little sieve

I should have known that they would not go with a guy who openly takes losing hard and is blunt with the fans. Boyle is a better choice, but they want pablum in pollyannaland.

babathehutt

Can we talk about hockey?

Eddie

As for Blake being named captain, does this surprise anyone?

After all Blake is a Wilson player, a Wilson Crony, overpaid, oft injured and a player that Doug Wilson just loves. This is decision made by Wilson himself, and its somewhat of a joke. Blake should not be captain of the team, and again he only gets it because he’s a Wilson guy.

Evilducks

Eddie: Except Ratto’s article was purely a guess:

The team captain will be Rob Blake. Not because the Sharks announced it, which they didn’t, but because he is the painfully obvious choice. Yes, even more painfully obvious than Dan Boyle.

A part of me is bummed we’re not going to see a fiery Cap’n like Boyle.

Blake is a diplomatic, level-headed guy. He’s certainly got the credentials to lead the team though – and I’m sure he’s not willing to end his prolific career on a note like last year.

Ryan

Oh boy. See anything wrong with this?

KID TO WATCH: Benn Ferriero. Like Boston’s impressive Blake Wheeler, Ferriero (pronounced FAIRY-oh) is a collegian who the Phoenix Coyotes drafted but failed to sign. Given a chance by the Sharks just prior to the team’s rookie camp, the Boston College grad earned a contract and a trip to the main camp, where he has three goals in four games while keeping Heatley’s spot warm on Joe Thornton’s line. A longshot even to make it this far, he’s caught the attention of Todd MacLellan and could stick with the team. “He’s been one of our top players,” the coach said.

1. Friend of Doug Wilson
2. Wilson has stated he tried to sign Blake numerous times to contracts
3. Wilson had to overpay to sign Blake last year
4. Blake misses how many games last year? and this year?
5. Blake let me guess comes from or played in Ottawa as a junior?
6. 40 yrs old, overpaid 2 straight season’s
7. Rejected sharks 3 times before twice as a free agent and once via trade before he agreed to be signed by the Sharks, and it took a vast overpayment to get him to sign on.

Ramon

Eddie,
Do we really need DP posting obvious speculation?

little sieve

I like JT, but why should he escape accountability for last April, and be given the A again?

Eddie

#55 Ramon

Not really, I just find it ironic that every thinks DP is the greatest writer of hockey news in the BA, yet Ray Ratto of all people speculates and gets it right now that in itself should be funny.

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

Im sure Boyler will still speak his mind, he did even before sporting the A, now he will for sure be a voice. He might as well be wearing the C…

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

Ray Rattos article is garbage…

dWisnotaverygoodgmunfortunately

Sactoshark,

Using profanity isn’t a privilege, and I don’t perceive it as such. It’s the right of every American citizen to use or not as they please.

JB,

There are different ways to curtail ideas. limiting the form of how they are expressed may be a different way of curtailing ideas than telling someone they can’t express a certain idea at all, regardless of the form, but limiting the form in which they are expressed can still curtail the idea, if not necessarily to the same degree. I mean why do you think people use profanity at all? If the same exact ideas could be expressed without profanity as with it why would people use it?

For example, here are two sentences, one with profanity, one without.

1. I hate that f***ing a**hole.
2. I hate him.

If I wanted to express that first idea, but was told I couldn’t use profanity, then the second sentence would be the closest I could come to expressing it. Is it similar? Yes. The same? No. Therefore changing the form in which ideas can be expressed, e.g censoring profanity, or eliminating words from someone’s vocabulary, does have the potential to curtail the ideas that people wish to express, contrary to what you said. “I hate that f***ing a**hole” and “I hate him” both convey some hate, some dislike, because they both include the word hate, but the first sentence with the profanity also conveys greater anger and greater dislike than the sentence without profanity. The one with profanity might be something someone would say about someone else during the heat of a situation, while still very angry, whereas the one without profanity might be something someone would say a few days later. They still hate that person, so they say they hate him, but it’s not as strong because they’re not as angry, they’re not in that moment from before.

So as you can see, curtailing the ways in which you can express ideas obviously can also end in curtailing the ideas themselves. I don’t know what lead you to believe otherwise.

Hey, Blake’s captain…

JD

Blake as Captain would only be short term righ?t we know he wont play much longer right? Boyle is signed longer term and was thought to be the most popular choice on this blog right? Let me speculate as to a possible reason for this choice: The coaches WANT this letter assignment to be short term. We have another player that is signed long term as well as Boyle.. Since it is hard to give a letter to a brand new face on the team, after a year of service it would be more likely. We heard this offseason about speculation that Dany Heatly wanted more responsability and possibly the Captaincy at Ottawa.(a reason for wanting out) Maybe this team did not wan’t our new guy with fragile feelings to be left out and wanted to give him hope for a leadership role in the future so he won’t have anything to complain about and rock the boat. This way Boyle and Heater can compete for Captain after Blake leaves. Heater won’t cry. Just a thought

SactoShark

That’s probably true Näslund (#62).

Now I’m wondering about the functionality of the Blake/Boyle/Thornton arrangement. Does that mean that there is not going to be a Captain or Assistant on ice on the 3rd and 4th lines – and the penalty kill might often lack one of those three as well.

That’s why it was logical for Marleau – he was on ice in nearly every situation.

jsc

interesting pick in Blake. Since it’s his last year maybe he can instill a sense of urgency to winning the Cup and a level of accountability in the locker room towards the common goal. It was probably too dificult to decide between Thornton and Boyle so give them the A’s this year and figure out which will get the C next year.

Well if the message is the time is now, it seems like it would make sense for them to move Greiss back down and find a cheap, more NHL ready backup for Nabby to challenge him for his job and elevate his game. Also Blake, although he is vocal and has captain experience is definately not the logical choice. He is in the penalty box way too much and will be gone most likely in a year so it seems illogical to change captains 3 times in 3 years. Changes in leadership like that seem to pull a team a part not unite them.

Kyle

Blake gets the C. Sharks site confirms it.

4th Hanson Brother

Blake was the obvious choice for the captaincy. One of the roles of the captain is to discuss penalties and rulings with the on-ice officials. Since Blake will be either in or near the penalty box quite a bit, he’ll be handy to talk with the refs.

NB Finfan

Blake=C
This makes sense from this standpoint. He has been a captain on a SC winning team before and he is short term here meaning he probably wont be a Shark more than 2 seasons at best. He will set the standard for whoever is the next captain and the other leaders on the team will be competing to become his successor.

JT=A
Hmmm…. He must have more than I perceived from his flippant comments at the end of the year. I know some here thought he should be captain, but this surprised me.

hckyplayer

@51, not sure you could call it a guess, as he names boyle and thorton as alternates.

Also, I think he accurately describes the state of the Sharks, very top heavy, poor 3/4 liners and no talent in the minors. Sharks fans, you heard it here 1st, it is all over after this year. Couture is no Marleau, Callahan, Demers and Joslin combined are not Blake.

Maybe if DW spent as much time on drafting as he does working on his golf game, our shelves would be stocked

Hammerhead

From NHL.com

By 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, every general manager must submit to the NHL office his maximum 23-man opening-day roster.

The Sharks roster has been set, just has not been announced.

SanJoseCupCrazy

#64 dWisnotaverygoodgmunfortunately: Before anything, along with the profanity, your handle alone gives me a pretty good idea about how you handle things — negativity, profanity…. Yet another one on this blog who feels both are necessary when discussing hockey.

Simply put, your thought process is what’s wrong with our society now — you aren’t capable of getting a thought across without punctuating it with profanity…. an attention-getter. While most people don’t blink at profanity anymore, there are kids and teenagers who read this and yes, they probably get more of it on MTV now than they get on here, but have a little respect for parents who may not want their kids to read it.

Profanity is intrusive, by nature, to those who don’t care to read it. You can go out on the street and drop all of the f-bombs you want, but you’re just going to look like someone who isn’t intelligent enough to formulate a coherent, persuasive argument without punctuating it with “f-this, f-that.”

I’m a Santa Clara broadcast journalism grad and know plenty about what free speech does and doesn’t protect. Bottom line, it doesn’t give someone the right to say what they want where they want. The Mercury News provides this forum and have the right to set whatever boundaries they like. Thank God they do — before DP put the “House Rules” up a few weeks back, this thing was getting unreadable with all of the idiots who hid behind their computer with insults, profanity, etc.

It’s just too bad that you think your argument isn’t relevant if you can’t drop an f-bomb.

bginna

#64

“Using profanity isn’t a privilege, and I don’t perceive it as such. It’s the right of every American citizen to use or not as they please.”

You have *no right* to post here, accordingly, *NO right* to use profanity.

Simple.

Please drop your beef and talk hockey or leave.

jlsj

I dont really agree with their selection of captain. Blake will most likely be gone next year. Blake is always in the box. He had penalty numbers similar to Jody Shelley…only thing is none of his are 5 minute majors for fighting. Taking stupid penalties because you are out of position puts your team in a compromising situation, and if the team message is leading by example, taking penalties is definately not the example you would want a captain to set.

On a positive note he has a good raphor with refs and is respected by other players in the league. He is also experienced. But we need to face the realization that he is getting older and cant do the same things he used to and thats why he is forced to take alot of penalties … becuase he cant keep up with some of the younger guys and is caught out of position.

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

#72 – NB -

Wasnt Sakic the Capt when Avs won the cup? Correct me if Im wrong. Ohh now that I re-read your statement I think you meant he was one of the captains right? As in in an A?

NB Finfan

Whatever the opening day roster is shouldn’t mean too much because I think there is going to be a shuttle bus between WOC & SJ for bubble players this year, much like last year. Anybody else think that.

NB Finfan

Nas you are right he was an A with the Avs not a C. My mistake but nice try to save me.

little sieve

somehow I doubt that in June Blake will be lifting a cup, unless it is the one with his jockstrap

jlsj

IMO profanity just shows a lack of inteligence and unfortunate disability to find a more suitable alternative. Profanity doesnt show any more emphasis than shouting does.

DumbPuck®

#73 hckyplayer:

You need to go back and re-read Ratto’s column. He says that the 3rd and 4th lines are improved over last year, when they were top-heavy. He says that the roster has always been top-heavy, but not this year.

JD

NB, I think so about your shuttle statement especially concerning the caliber of play and also matching up against other teams( muscle vs speed vs finesse) at least until mitchell gets back then cap space won’t allow it as much Unless injuries of coarse

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

#81 – Sieve do you ever stop drinking the kool-aid? Your never satisfied, for once I would love to see something positive come from one of your posts. Just, Be, A, Sharks, Fan, For, Once….

#79- NB – I second that notion. I hope that some bubble players prove their worth and make it hard for them to get sent down…

MarkDaShark

Captain Blake, not my choice but I am not in the locker room, keeping the C warm for Boyle is my guess, thought Blake missed to much time last year to be a functional Captain, but he played in 73 games, not bad for a older dude, so lets drop the puck, blog police I was not trying to mask a curse word by using puck in this context, think it will take time for us to gel, can give a puck about best record, seriously I have many pucks around the house and would love to give some away, hope all Sharks fans are able to watch the game without having to move to another state. Go Sharks.

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

TSN announcing Sundins retirement, thank goodness he came to the realization he cant compete in this era of hockey with the aarp card in hand, me thinks he will join Claude on the golf course somewhere warm, lol…

nonamefan

Good to know that posting without reading is still alive and well on the interwebz:

From DP’s post yesterday,

“But here’s the bottom line — look for the same kind of back-and-forth to Worcester that took place last season. In other words, if Benn Ferriero makes the team and Frazer McLaren doesn’t, their situations could be reversed at any time. Both McLellan and Wilson made that same point (without using any names, of course).”

little sieve

#85, no, you mean be a pollyanna. I don’t buy into every mgmt move like a sheep. I will look at things with a critical eye until mgmt PROVES itself, which this mgmt has NEVER done.

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

Well the cuts have to be in by 3pm eastern and were at 12:40 pacific, should be anytime now…

JD

Maybe we did read that noname but just wanted to respond in a friendly constructive way instead of yours

lordstanleytosj

Blake as Captain? Thornton with the A again?
Ridiculous.
Nice ‘big’ changes fellas.

Robert

Nabby on the ESPN homepage/listed in their “top 10 lists … rookies, sophomores and players with something to prove”. i have long been a Nabby supporter but i do hope the memory remains of the lights getting turned off on him at the Honda Center after the last game of the Playoffs…

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

#89 I think its the team that needs to prove itself, the management dosent play the game they just direct it. The players need to step up and prove something to us. I wasnt attacking you Sieve I think your great to blog with I just wish you had more positive posts sometimes! Anyways heres to a great year right? We cant be a negative Nancys before we even get started right?

Sieve whats one thing you liked most about our offseason moves? One thing your excited about this year? Im being serious and genuinely interested…

Joe

Thornton over Marleau for the A doesn’t send a real positive message about hard work off the ice, or performing in the playoffs.

And how many times have we heard Doug Wilson talk about wanting the secondary stars to step in to leadership roles? Why aren’t they represented at all?

Odd and curious choices by San Jose brass. Boyle, Marleau and Pavelski should represent the leadership of this team. They embody the right qualities. Joe Thornton embodies this team’s failures.

DP-

I think you’re selling Vancouver’s defense a bit short. Bieksa is incredibly underrated, Edler looks poised to have a star-making year, and to be honest Ehrhoff is probably an upgrade over Ohlund in terms of skill set and skating ability. Ohlund has lost more than a step. He MIGHT be worth the money Tampa gave him, given their situation with Hedman. But I doubt it. On top of that, Vancouver has 6-7 potential 20 goal scorers in Sedin, Sedin, Demitra, Kessler, Burrows, Wellwood and Bernier. I think they’ll finish ahead of Calgary.

http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/ Näslund

#92 Lord – You cant be serious right? There have been some major changes this offseason, albeit it took all summer but we are a different team then last year, there is no comparison, results will be different good or bad…

GDub44

jlsj,

PIMs are a complex statistic and not all PIMs are automatically considered bad PIMs. A player taking a PIM to stop a high quality scoring chance doesn’t mean he was out of position, it could mean his partner was. These type of PIMs are often seen as acceptable by coaches (necessary evils). This is just one example too. The “sandpaper” we always talk about, making a team “pay” to play against you, can sometimes come with PIMs as well. On the contrary, stupid penalties are the bain of any coaches existence, but if Blake was getting stupid PIMs, I highly doubt he would be awarded the C.

All that said, I would rather see Boyler with the C, just so we have some continuity as I doubt Blake plays next year. I also like how he handled himself after the losses last year. Oh well…spilled milk. Blake is highly respected on the team…should be a good leader.

Robert

not sure why people are shocked/angered by Blake being the team Captain. the guy has won a Cup, Olympic and World medals of the Gold and Silver type and has been a Captain/Assistant on multiple teams before SJ. yeah we paid to much for him last year but that was Doug’s call but as a Dman he was 4th on the team in +/- while being the 2nd highest scoring defenseman.

and JT keeping his A –> these videos sum up why:

youtube.com/watch?v=h0DomVGAM9E
youtube.com/watch?v=PR9n15Axsbw

hckyplayer

@83

Respectfully, I must disagree with Ratto, our 3rd line this year is still very weak. Malhotra is a solid 3rd line center. After that? Mitchell is hurt and is probably why they signed malhotra. Mcguinn is a question mark. Also, given the Sharks’ cap issues, once Mitchell returns, Mcguinn is back to Worcester. That leaves 4th liners in ort, staub, shelley, mclaren, and unproven ferriero to round out the 3rd line. Just do not see it.

and do you really expect any O production from a 4th line of Nichol/Shelley/Staubitz/Mclaren? Defensively, except Nichol, they are slow and undisciplined.